


Be Nice to Rocket (Please, He Needs Love)

by Huntress8611



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cybernetics, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Massage, Nightmares, Pain, Rocket needs a hug, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 14:30:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12773037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Huntress8611/pseuds/Huntress8611





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KairosImprimatur](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KairosImprimatur/gifts).



Rocket curled up under his blankets and buried his nose under his pillow, wishing that he wasn’t alone.  _‘No,’_ he told himself,  _‘You can’t tell anyone, they’ll just think that you’re a stupid animal, and you don’t want that.’_ He whimpered and rolled over, trying to fall asleep. It took a while, but, eventually, he drifted off to sleep.

Peter woke up to a scream from the room next to his and jumped out of bed. He went into the room to see Rocket shouting and flailing in his sleep. He quickly went over to the bed and gently shook him awake. Rocket snapped awake with a hiss, puffing up his fur and moving to a defensive position.

“Woah,” said Peter, putting his hands up, “It’s just Peter, you okay?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” said Rocket, obviously lying. 

Peter sat down on his bed and rested a hand on the raccoon's shoulder. Rocket let himself lean into the touch for a split second before throwing off the hand and hissing “Don’t touch me!” 

Peter, having somehow felt Rocket lean into the touch, looked at him with a confused face.

“Why won’t you let anyone comfort or touch you?” Peter asked bluntly. 

“Because I’m not a freaking animal and I won’t be treated like one,” replied Rocket defensively. 

Peter finally got it. Rocket didn’t let anyone get close to him because he didn’t want to be treated like a pet. 

“It’s alright to let people near you. People use touch as, like, the most common form of comfort,” he informed Rocket, who hesitantly scooted next to Peter, who put his hand on his shoulder. After a bit, Peter started to rub circles on his shoulder and he melted into it.

“Hey Rocket?” asked Peter, “When was the last time someone touched you in a kind way?” 

“Never,” said Rocket. 

Peter looked at him like he was crazy. “Why not?” 

“Because I’m not a dumb animal, and if I ask for help, people start to think that I am,” replied Rocket. Peter looked at him, horrified, and pulled him into his lap.

Rocket looked up at him, confused and slightly worried. “Quill, what are you doing?”

“I thought that maybe, since you know that I will never think that you’re a ‘dumb animal,’ that you might let me help you,” said Peter, tentatively running his hand through the fur on Rocket’s back. Peter kept stroking his head and back as Rocket relaxed into him.

After a bit, Peter heard a noise that almost sounded like  _purring_? He lifted Rocket up to his chest and kept petting the soft fur until Rocket fell asleep. He smiled softly to himself and tucked him into his bed before returning to his room and going back to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days later, after a really bad day, Peter woke up to the sound of his door creaking open. He lifted his head up to see Rocket standing just barely in his room, looking around. 

“You alright, buddy?” asked Peter, propping himself up on his elbow. 

When Rocket shook his head, Peter gestured for him to come over to him and lifted up his blanket.

Rocket walked over, cautious, before crawling in next to him. Peter wrapped an arm around him as he wriggled closer, wrapping his other arm around Rocket and tightening his grip until he stopped trying to squirm closer.  He hummed a lullaby ad held him until he relaxed a bit. He started to loosen his hold, but immediately tightened it again when Rocket started to panic. He ran a hand along his back soothingly, and a couple of minutes later he heard a sniffle and felt something wet on his shirt.

Rocket tried to keep himself from crying, but it didn’t work. He actually felt safe and like someone genuinely cared about him.  _‘This was definitely a good idea,’_ he thought. 

He cried for a while more, and when he stopped, he heard Peter whisper, “Feel a little better now?” 

“Yeah,” he replied in a raspy voice. 

“Good,” said Peter, “Just so you know, if you ever need anything, I'm here.”

 Rocket nodded, and Peter pulled him closer before they both fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

“Goddammit,” muttered Rocket, trying to reach the implants on his back. He’d already managed to check and clean all of the other ones, but he just couldn’t reach the ones on his back. He heard a knock at the door before it creaked open.

“Go away, I’m busy,” grunted Rocket, annoyed. 

“You look like you might need some help with that,” he heard Peter say from next to him. 

“I’ll get it eventually,” muttered Rocket. 

Peter sat down behind him and grabbed the rag from his hands. “Fine,” said Rocket, “Be careful and make sure all to get all of the cracks and indents. Also, the stuff I have to use to clean it with burns and the skin and muscles around the implants just always hurt, so be careful.” 

“Okay,” said Peter, and Rocket closed his eyes tightly, bracing himself for the burn of the cleaning supplies on top of the regular back pain.

Rocket hissed as Peter gently and quickly cleaned off the implants. Once he was done, he asked, “Can I try something that might help your back to not hurt as much?” Rocket nodded and Peter told him to stay laying down the way he was.

He gently massaged Rocket’s shoulders until he relaxed completely. He then moved to the areas around the implants, just running his fingers around them to let him get used to it. Then, Peter gently pressed the areas around his shoulder blades that were knotted, and he whimpered. Peter kept going, massaging the rest of Rocket’s back while humming the piña colada song. After he got all of the knots out, he poked Rocket until he sat up. 

Rocket stretched, breathing a sigh of relief. “Thanks,” he said. 

“Anytime,” replied Peter.


End file.
